When one NYC iPhone customer complained that many of his calls were dropping, Apple informed him that his 22 percent drop rate was much better than its average NYC customer's 30 percent dropped call rate. (Source: Gizmodo)

"It just works" -- Apple Inc.

Apple is famous for its advertising
that its products are easy to use and problem free. Thus, when
it is confronted with problems in its products, it's perhaps
predictable that it would get a bit defensive. It often glosses
over complaints or stretches the definition of the word
"working". Despite some signs that it was turning a
corner, responding to hard
drive issues on its MacBook Pros, a recent
report from Gizmodo indicates more of the same.

A
customer named Manoj Gupta took his iPhone to the local Apple Genius
Bar when he became frustrated with its tendency to frequently drop
his calls. The Genius Bar gave Mr. Gupta some good news -- his
iPhone was perfectly fine and working and needed no repairs.

The
bad news? The phone dropped over 22 percent of the calls it
made in the test routine. But the Genius Bar printout reassured
Mr. Gupta that 22 percent call drop rates were actually quite good --
and that most of AT&T's iPhone customers have 30 percent or more
of their calls drop.

Granted, Apple may be getting more than
the fair share of its criticism for this egregious claim, but its
lack of concern and its customers plight and its decision to partner
with AT&T, whose network is obviously not up to snuff, are an
invitation to such critique. As for AT&T, it seems hard to
believe that it will be able to retain many customers in areas where
its dropping 30 percent of their calls. While call drop rates
are traditionally higher in New York City, they're seldom that
high.

AT&T is offering a solution to their customers --
buy
their own 3G hotspot for $150. AT&T will soon be
rolling out its MicroCell, a femtocell device that will offer a
bubble of 3G coverage. It is unclear, though, whether customers will be required to subscribe to one of AT&T's unlimited calling bundles ($20/month) to use the device.

AT&T and Apple are confident that their
customers will stick with them -- even if they drop 30 percent of
their calls in some areas. And AT&T feels that it is giving
customers plenty of options, allowing them to subscribe to an extra
service to help fix the shortcomings of its network.

"It's okay. The scenarios aren't that clear. But it's good looking. [Steve Jobs] does good design, and [the iPad] is absolutely a good example of that." -- Bill Gates on the Apple iPad